Quirks of the New York City Football Club

Submitted by mike on Sat, 05/02/2015 - 19:44

The New York City Football Club is the newest team to compete in Major League Soccer, the top league for soccer in the United States and Canada. It also joins the New York Red Bulls as the second soccer team in the area to play in MLS. There are many interesting things to take a look at with regards to this team.

Who Owns It?

About 80% of NYCFC is owned by City Football Group. This is the group that operates the Manchester City English team. The rest of the team's assets are owned by Yankee Global Enterprises, the owners of the New York Yankees baseball team. The two paired to spend $100 million on the expansion fee to get into MLS.

Why They Play At a Baseball Stadium

The first year's games for NYCFC will be played in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium. The team was going to play in a new stadium at the Flushing Meadows neighborhood in Queens but people in the area and the New York Mets baseball team both opposed the plan. NYCFC is still hoping to get a new stadium built before the 2018 season.

Who's On the Team?

There are a few noteworthy players on NYCFC to take a look at as the team starts to go for a big run in 2015:

Ryan Meara, who has played as a goalkeeper for the New York Red Bulls, is on loan to NYCFC.

Chris Wingert is the top defenseman for the team. He spent eight years with Real Salt Lake and was brought onto NYCFC through the year's expansion draft.

David Villa is the most noteworthy forward on the team. He has spent time with Valencia, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid and has made nearly one hundred appearances with Spain's national team.

Patrick Mullins, who won two Hermann Trophies while playing at the University of Maryland, will fill in a position at the front. He has a strong appearance last year with the New England Revolution and was a star with the New Orleans Jesters of the NPSL for two years.